Headlight for suction cleaners



HEADLIGHT FOR SUCTION CLEANERS Filed Nov. 14, 1947 1 K Mi 1. INVENTOR. KL J am v Jofin F. Vance 434 BY R .3 mm .9 79/ S ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 29, 1952 UNITED STATES PATIENT."

John Edward'Vetnce,xGanton, Ohio, assignor to:-

The Hoover Company; cNoith' canton, fflhio; a;

corporation-fibrin:

Ap'plieation November. 14, 1941, sena1:No;-qse;oez: eel-aims; (01. 1543240 The present inventionrrelates'to' suction cleanersimgenerah and more particularly to"a"'new" and improved headlight construction for'a suc tion cleaner. comprises -.an improved con'struc'tionin 'whichthe lightsourceiis'cpositionedand carried in" a new and novel manner. v

jlitifis an object o'fttie present invention to'pr'ovide-a new and"improved'suction' cleaner;

It in anothers bject to providea "new andiim pro. a suctionac'leaner casing 'em'podyinggfloorefioor-iliurninatin'gmeans suitably pcsiti'oned'wit'h respect-to the converter construction "of thes'u'ctio'ncleaner'toiprovide "for ready accessto the converter in 'off-the-fl'oor cleaning;

Another object of the invention is to provide simplified wiring and mounting means "forthe light 3011163'.

Another-dbject of the siiitahle 1ouver-construction for-directing the light rays emitted from the light to' a position immediately *forward or the suction cleaner noz- 219;

Still another object of the invention is to provide anovelmotor case construction in 1 which theiignt'son-rce is mounted thereon eccentric with L respect' to the vertical axis-O'f the motor.

These-a nd -other more specific' objects will appear 'ii'pon' reading the followingspecificati'on and cIaims-"andumn'considering in connectiontherewiththe attached drawings towhich they relate.

"According to the present invention, a vacuum' cleaner assembly' in-the form of a horizontally positioned motor'fan-unit having a nozzle extending angularly relativethereto is provided with a lightlocated in a space to one side of the fan chamber-"and "to 'the' r'ear of and to one sideof thei'conver ter opening and so positionedto direct theiii'ght -rays emitted *by the :dig'lit onto the isure More specificaHy the invention" invention is t'o provide face immediately-forward of the -n0zz1e;--='[n orderto'xdirect the rays forwardlyof the nozzle a sui t abieornamental closure is provided to confine. the light source and to direct rays forwardly -01? the nozzle while at the same timeenhancinn;

theappearance-of the cleaner body.-.

In the drawings; in which a preferred embodi merit "of the present "invention is disclosed, illitereference characters indicate the same or similar 10* parts;

inaccordancewith the present invention;

Figure 2 isa side elevation; partly' in section;

taken along line 2-2- of'Figure *1 Figure 3 is a plan "view, partly in section,-=taken== along line 33 of Figured looking in the-direm ti'ono'f the-arrows; and

Figure 4 is "a viewin elevation"taken-:aionglline 1-4 ofFi'gure- 2-1'ooki'ng in the directien of the arrows.

With the advent of smaller-dwelling units and apartments, i't 'h'as been in keeping-'w-iththe trend to develop 'sjma-l ler suction cleaners of the an'ibu lant type which may be readily" stored and which may be sold at'a lower cost to the consumer; Thetrend in these lower cost cleaners has "been to"leave* off a useful part-of thesuction cleaner suehra-s the headlight "or the converter-attach mentsgo'r both. *Inre'dncingthe size-eta suction cleaner, there is L-only *a limited space in which to "apply a light "whereby the electrical =connec'-- tions'to the; lightmay he 'connected into'the electrical circuit of the -cleaner proper. In the-prior art, it'*'h'as*been= taught that a light may mounted in the forward "portion or the cleanernozzle forwardly "ofthe "Ian housing fbut thisdn creases the cost and-necessitates that the Wiring; for the light be led around the'cleaner nozzle and fan casing to a point-where t t-maybe electrically connectedinto the electrical circuit of 'the mdtm'cr vAccording to thepresent invention hoth a headlight and provisions *for*converting to 'o'ff-'the-= floor cleaning areprovided in a low cost 'c1eaner.- That is done byplacingthe converteropening itr the front waill rof the suction passa'g'e i'mmedi ately front of the fanileye. r'and in iplacing ithei light-- and housing to one side 'of -;the :fan: teasing proper above the main frame and inwardly of' itsouter peripheryiwhereby ithezflight mayizbe directly 'e'lectricallyftconneetedrmto"theimotor cuit; In order tov provide a 'SYMIIIEIIEiCBZIiiaDDEET- ance'for the cleaner :aisimilar "dummy? mousing: is positioned DD the dpposlteuside :oT thezfanwase;

Figure-"1 a front view f the suction cleamer with floor-illuminating means embodied" therein- Referring to the drawings, there will be described a preferred embodiment of a modern low cost suction cleaner of the horizontal axis type to which the invention has been applied. The suction cleaner comprises a suction nozzle I5, and a fan chamber I6 which houses a suction-creating fan II. The chamber I6 is interiorly connected through a fan eye I8 to the floor-contacting nozzle I in order that it may draw cleaning air therethrough to remove the foreign matter in the surface covering and discharge it through an outlet I9 into a suitable dust bag (not shown) as is well understood. A motor casing is rigidly attached to the fan chamber houses a suitable driving motor for the suctioncreating fan [1. A suitable form of agitator mounted within the suctionecreating nozzle I5 may be suitably driven by means of a belt ac- I6 and tuated from an extension 2i of the motor shaft.

Front supporting wheels 22, 22 and rear wheels 23,23 make possible the easy movement of the cleaner over the surface covering upon the exertion by the operator of a slight force through a handle (not shown) mounted upon a pivoted bail construction 24 operatively connected to the motor housing. Handle detent means 25 permits adjustment of the handle from its nonoperating vertical storage position to its operating position.

A suction passage 28 provides for the passage of dirt laden air from the suction cleaner nozzle I5 to the fan eye it. The belt which drives the agitator also passes through the suction passage 26. Immediately in front of the fan eye I8 is a converter opening closed by a suitable closure 21 which seals the suction passage from the atmosphere. When the closure 21 is removed a converter attachment may be inserted through the opening so as to communicate with the fan eye I8 in a manner well known in the art. The

cleaner is also provided with a furniture guard cleaner,-it is also essential in the design of such asuctioncleaner that the over-all height of the machine be as low as possible. This requirement is essential when it is considered that the lower the-machine is to the floor the greater will be its field of usefulness as it can be used under a greater number of heavy objects such as furniture which are normally positioned upon and overlying the surface covering to be cleaned. In addition, it is further essential that the nozzle I5be as free of obstructions as possible. example, the suction passage and fanchamber should=;be positioned rearwardly of the front edge of the nozzle to permit the nozzle to be readily moved about and underneath the furniture during the cleaning operation. In order to preserve the low height of the cleaner without-increasing its width the main casting is provided with symmetrically positioned pockets 39 spaced laterally of the fan chamber It to the rear of the suction passageway 23 above the nozzle I5 as is illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive. As shown in Figures land 3, the pockets 30*are positioned equal distances from the converter opening cover plate 21 on opposite sides thereof. Each of the chambers 30 is provided with an ornamental louvered closure plate 3I which may be formed from sheet'metal or plastic and which is readily snapped into position with an extension 32"fitting theopening 33 to each chamber 30. The left hand chamber as viewed in Figures 1 and 3 is a dummy chamber covered with a louvered closure plate 3I to hide the exhaust outlet so as to preserve the symmetrical appearance of the cleaner.

The walls of the right hand pocket 30 are so shaped and curved that they form reflectors adapted to throw light beams forward of the nozzle I5 and across the entire width thereof as indicated by the dashed line 34 in Figures 2 and 3. The closure plate 3i is provided with suitable louvered openings 35 so that light beams are projected forwardly and downwardly from a bulb 36. The bulb 36 which may be a standard bayonet joint type is mounted in a bayonet joint socket 37 formed integrally with an extension of the plastic motor casing 29. A passage 39 extends laterally from the casing 20 and serves to connect the socket 3'! to the interior of the motor housing 20.

The passage 33 forms a chamber for receiving spring contacts 45) and 4I the inner ends of which are secured to the wall 38 of the casing 29 by means of screws 44 threaded into insulating lugs 42. At their inner ends the spring contacts are electrically connected into the motor circuit by lead Wires 43 also secured by the screws 44. The outer ends of the spring contacts make resilient contact with the contacts of the bulb 36 and serve to hold the bulb in the socket 31 in a manner well known in the art. The front wall 38 of the motor housing 26 is suitably ribbed at 45 to form the rear walls of the chamber 30 and of the fan chamber I6. An ornamental plug 46 serves to form a closure for an opening 471 formed during the molding operation.

The closure 3| may be removed by pulling out wardly so as to disengage the portion 32 from the edges of the opening 33 and the catch 48 from the opening 49 in the top of the nozzle I5 whereby access may be had to the pocket 30 in order to install or replace the bulb 33 in the usual manner.

The bulb 36 is located at substantially the; The interior of the chamber 30 is coated with enamel or other horizontal axis of the motor.

reflective coating to serve as a reflector for directing the light rays emitted forwardly and downwardly across and in front of the suction nozzle at an angle onto the surface immediately forward of the nozzle I5, as illustrated sche-,

matically by the dashed lines 34 in Figures 2 and 3.

While I have shown but a single embodiment,

of my invention it is to be understood that this embodiment is to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wishto be limited-to the particular structure shown and described but to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the and operatively connected to the eye of said fan said passage being formed with a converter opening in front of the eye of said fan, said nozzle-- being the element of maximum Width of said cleaner and said fan chamber being the ele ment of maximum height, a reflecting chamber,

formed integrally with said body and laterally of said fan chamber and another chamber symmetrically formed with respect to said reflecting chamber on the opposite side of said fan chamber, ornamental louvered cover plates for eachs of said chambers, and a common removable closure plate forming the rear walls of said fan and reflecting chambers.

2. In a suction cleaner, an integral body forming a nozzle and a fan chamber, said nozzle being the element of maximum width of said cleaner and said fan chamber being the element of maximum height, a reflecting chamber formed integrally with said body and spaced laterally of said fan chamber, said fan and reflecting chambers being formed with an opening in the rear thereof, a motor housing fixed to the rear of said chambers, the front wall of said motor housing forming the rear wall of said fan and reflecting chambers upon assembly therewith.

3. In a suction cleaner, an integral body forming a nozzle and a fan chamber, a reflecting chamber formed integrally with said fan chamber and nozzle, a motor housing fixed to said cleaner body and forming the rear wall of said chambers, said motor housing having a light socket thereon positioned to receive a light within said reflecting chamber, a passage formed in the front wall of said motor housing and connecting said socket with the interior of said housing, and spring-biased contacts mounted within said passage and operatively connected to said light whereby said light is spring-biased into said socket, said spring-biased contacts being electrically connected into the circuit of said cleaner.

4. In a suction cleaner, a horizontal axis fan chamber having a forwardly directed suction opening, said nozzle being interiorly connected to said suction opening, a reflecting chamber forming a pocket having a front opening adjacent to said nozzle and fan chamber and laterally positioned with respect to said fan chamber, light creating means in said reflecting chamber, said chamber being shaped as a reflector to direct light outwardly of said pocket in front of said nozzle upon the surface undergoing cleaning immediately forward of said nozzle, a light directing louvered cover forming a closure for said reflecting chamber, conducting means connecting said light creating means to a source of electricity and a common closure iplate forming the rear walls of said fan and reflecting chambers, said closure plate forming a support 6 v for said light creating means and a conduit for said conducting means.

5. A suction cleaner comprising, a housing, said housing including a nozzle, means for mounting said housing for ambulatory movement over a surface with said nozzle positioned above said surface, a horizontal axis motor fan unit positioned above and to the rear of said nozzle, said motor fan unit having a forwardly directed suction eye, a suction passage connecting said nozzle to said eye, the forward wall of said passage being formed with a converter opening immediately in front of said suction eye, said nozzle extending laterally of the width of said motor fan unit, said housing having pockets on either side of said converter opening above said nozzle laterally of said motor fan unit to the rear of said suction eye and within the lateral width of said nozzle, a light in one of said pockets and a partition dividing said motor-fan unit into a fan chamber and a motor chamber and forming the rear wall of said one pocket.

6. A suction cleaner according to claim 5 in which said partition forms a support for said light and a conduit formed in said partition for housing electric conductors electrically connecting said light to the motor circuit.

JOHN EDW'ARD VANCE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 12,983 Penney June 29, 1909 1,304,860 Dole May 27, 1919 1,547,729 Booth July 28, 1925 2,036,056 Kroenlein Mar. 31, 1936 2,039,860 Watts May 5, 1936 2,088,482 Packer July 2'7, 193'! 2,146,152 Martinet Feb. 7, 1939 2,230,683 Hahn Feb. 4, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 415,002 Great Britain Aug. 16, 1934 

